What if Ike had never beat up Tina?

Play it: The Bellrays Have a Little Faith

Went to the local venue (Sunset Tavern - crawling distance) for some live music and came back a believer... in The Bellrays.

Who are the Bellrays? Think Tina Turner fronting MC5 and you're getting warm. Their new album, Have a Little Faith, just came out a couple weeks ago and is their first to come close to capturing their live sound. Running from the classic soul of "Third Time's the Charm" (which sounds like a long lost classic hit from the era) to the motor city meltdown of "Detroit Breakdown" they cover the seemingly impossible ground between James Brown and Iggy and the Stooges. Just listen to the opener "Tell the Lie" and you're well on your way for the ride.

I was there, in part, to take some photos for some friends who opened. These friends were Sugar Farm, who are a two-person (Marty on drums, Margaret on guitar) Delta blues boogie machine. They've been playing together now for over 7 years when they both were really learning their instruments, and it's nice to hear how far they've come. I got some decent shots (one of which was rendered into an eye-grabbing poster [pictured above] by artist/musician/vascular technician/friend Britton,) then my camera battery started to go right as Top Heavy Crush got into their set, so I got no photos of The Bellrays ('cept this weird dead battery shot.) Too bad... so sad.

Some recent live photos of The Bellrays.

tags: live review, music, soul, bellrays, mc5, tina turner, sugar farm, sunset tavern